﻿End Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

What is FGM?According to the World Health Organisation (2007), Female
Genital Mutilation comprises all procedures that involve partial or total
removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital
organs for non-medical reasons. It is performed in Africa, Asia but also in
Western countries as a cultural tradition.

FGM has no health benefits and is harmful to girls and women, described as a barbaric and traumatising experience .

FGM reflects inequality between the sexes, and constitutes a form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on young girls and is a violation of the rights of children. This practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture , inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.

Four types of FGM:

Type I : Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).

Type II: Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).

Type III: Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.

Type IV: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.